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A cyst can rupture be it a, most likely it's a follicular cyst or a corpus luteum cyst. These are the so-called functional cysts, or the functional cyst with pregnancy. When they rupture generally nothing happens. In fact, there's usually a pressure relief.

Because any distended cyst is often what gives, as a cysts nerves are increased by the distension, by the fluid, that's often what causes the pain. The relief of the pain comes whenever it ruptures. Often like, unfortunately a ruptured appendix. Sometimes when a patient feels an appendix ballooning up and brings him to the doctors the fact that the appendix becomes distended. Immediately after that there's a rupture and they don't feel the pain. Unfortunately what causes the problems with ruptured cysts is if the cyst has a very rich blood supply and that blood supply, the arteries start pumping blood and don't seal off and the abdomen can fill up with blood. And I've dealt with many cases both as an ectopic pregnancy, but the conditions usually much worse, but also, as a, rarely as a ruptured cyst that's bleeding off a cystic pregnancy. And often times the abdomen can literally become distended. In a severe case woman can go into shock meaning their blood pressure falls out, it's an emergency, life threatening situation that if undiagnosed can be fatal. Fortunately, with emergency rooms being equipped the way they are, doctors being as smart as we are - we rarely miss this. But once in a great while this is a complication. And when the cyst ruptures it doesn't, you can usually preserve the ovary. Usually it can be sutured over, quarterized. The ovary stays in tact and even in a rare case if it had to be removed, again that does not affect fertility.

Generally if you have weight loss - unexplained weight loss is always a problem and should be looked into by a doctor. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's ovary cancer. But a benign cyst, a functional cyst, any of these cysts that we talked about with the exception of the cancerous cysts which are rare, will not be associated with a weight loss. Obviously if we have pain or anxiety about a tumor or cyst often times that's the cause of the weight loss. As far as weight gain, the weight gain is not because of a cyst. However, in the case of the polycystic ovary it's a condition that's sort of related. The cyst doesn't cause the obesity but they seem to be related. And the reason for polycystic ovary disease is unknown. Dr. Christopher Freville describes it as multi-factor but again one of the treatments I mentioned was to try to get the patient to lose weight and it often helps the other symptoms.

Some health pills such as Noni- Tahitian. Noni-Tahitian is the Indian mulberry Plant. It grows in the South Pacific and like a lot of the natural foods there's a lot of claims around all of these. In fact Noni-Tahitian, this is just an example. One company called Morinda, Inc. was pretty well known. It was 1998. Morinda, Inc. was investigated by the FDA - Federal Drug Administration, because they were actually labeling their Noni Tahitian, which I think is a drink. I've never had it myself. But they had all these claims, and the FDA said listen, we no longer - the FDA in this country will leave a company alone as long as it's considered a food supplement, nutrition supplement. When you start making claims, as Morinda did, they said, "No you can't do that."

They did an extensive investigation and charged them $100,000.00 for that investigation, and had them cease and desist. So any type of health food that claims that they're going to prevent cysts is unfortunately bogus. I will say while I'm on that, other things that are associated with cysts, women who take estrogens. This has always been a controversy since estrogens came out, and there's so much data on estrogens.

Drugs like Climara, various forms of Estradiol, Premarin, they're all various categories of the same type of drug, they're estrogen supplements. Estrogens do not cause cysts. If anything, estrogens, especially those in birth control pills can decrease cysts. Which brings up a point if a woman on birth control pills, oral contraceptives, develops a cyst, that's rare.